Cooperation between ZEB2 and SP1 upregulates PD-L1 and CCL2 to promote the immunosuppressive activity of tumor cells

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is implicated in tumor progression, and EMT-inducing transcription factors play multifaceted roles; however, the molecular mechanisms underlying these processes are not well understood. Previously, we showed that ZEB2 acts cooperatively with the transcription factor SP1 to function as a transcriptional activator that promotes cancer cell invasion and survival, as well as angiogenesis. Here, we investigated whether cooperation between ZEB2 and SP1 promotes immunosuppressive activity of tumor cells, and characterized the underlying mechanisms. The effects of ZEB2 on expression of cytokines and PD-L1 were investigated using mRNA-seq analysis of ZEB2-overexpressing tumor cells. Overall design: RNA-seq profiling of wildtype SW480 cells and ZEB2-overexpressing SW480 cells